


Herbal Knowledge

by CaptainErica



Series: Subtleties defeat you [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, finally christmas, it happened!, we made it!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 02:36:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17499965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainErica/pseuds/CaptainErica
Summary: Hermione is flirting with the edge of understanding, and once she peers over the edge, she doesn't think she can stop herself from overthinking... luckily she's extremely busy, as it's Christmas.





	Herbal Knowledge

On Sunday evening, Hermione gives in and sends a Christmas card to Draco Malfoy.

She had spent most of Saturday dithering about it, after having thought about doing it on Friday. It was a normal card, one of 50 from a little pack she’d bought while out shopping with Harry in Muggle London. She had charmed each of the ones she sent out to her wizarding acquaintances to do something different, which was part of her dithering the day before; should she leave it as it had come, and in the note inside mention something about appreciating the simplicity of the muggle world, or…

She had decided against _that_ way, couldn’t think of a good way to write it out so that it came out as more of an inside joke than something else entirely. She chose a few simple charms for the front of the card; the quaint, snowy, winter scene was now actually snowing, the lights in the little cabins and around the fir trees were actually twinkling…

It was much simpler than what she had done for Ron; whenever it was even a touch opened, and not pressed flatly closed, it would sing any number of Christmas Carols, mostly horribly off-key. But the inside was harder to write than her rather long missive to her parents; an explanation in parts, a wish for health, and lots of love. No, Draco Malfoy’s letter was far harder to write, and so she spent most of her Saturday, relaxing with multiple cups of tea and a quill in hand for whenever the words might come.

But then… Then she realized she was over-thinking the whole thing. She made herself relax, remember that it was just a Christmas card, and the simple holiday greeting, wish for health and happiness and prosperity… well, they came easily then, and so did the little tease at the end about teashops and the right types of herbal tisanes; _I’ll be brushing up on my herbs and spices over the holiday, so that I’m more qualified to drink tea._

She looks at the simply addressed envelope once more before handing it off to her owl, and then goes back to the living room to settle in for a spot of tea and a nice book.

At lunch time on Christmas Eve Hermione makes her way down the street to meet Harry at a nice little pub. It’s quiet on this street, but she can hear the bustle on the main street, and is glad she had chosen to take this route instead. She pushes the heavy door of the pub open and slips inside, lowering her hood as she does so, hands only warm because of the charm she’d placed on her gloves before leaving the house.

It’s dark, as pubs tend to be, and it takes her a moment to adjust before she notices Harry in a corner, already seated and waiting for her. She slides into the booth across from him after hanging her cloak up on the peg between booths, and sighs. “Trying to get away?” She asks, and Harry, who had been politely waiting for her to settle before handing her a menu, blushes a touch.

“Ah, you know what it’s like there around now.” He says with a shrug, but Hermione _does_ know, so she doesn’t push on that front.

“Better than staying in Grimmauld alone this time of year, since Ron goes back to the Burrow anyway.” She says, a gentle reminder that gets her a nod in acquiescence.

She takes the menu and flips it open, interested in what she can eat, but also giving Harry time to voice his thoughts.

He sighs, pushes his hand through his hair, and the slumps back a little. “You know Ginny’s got a boyfriend now, yeah?” He says, and Hermione nods, not looking up yet. “Yeah, and Molly’s not quite ready to accept that yet, so it’s a bit… much.” He says, sighing softly.

Hermione looks up at him, tilting her head a touch, lips parting like she’s going to respond, but the waitress comes up to take their orders, so she’s blocked for a moment. When the waitress is gone, taking their menus with her, Hermione pins Harry with a little look, worry and understanding (so much understanding). “You could stay at my place instead.” She says, “You know I should have offered, or should have come to stay with you. It’s so much smaller at my place, more comfortable. Of course if you’d come over Saturday you’d have had to watch me fret over writing a Christmas card for Malfoy, so maybe it was for the best…”

Harry sits up a bit at that, eyes bright with some type of teasing amusement. “Ah, writing him cards now? After only 2 months of him trying to get your attention?” He asks, clearly teasing, and Hermione’s cheeks are already brightly red from the transition from cold exterior to warm interior so he shouldn’t be able to tell she’s blushing.

“Honestly, Harry.” She says, a bit flustered, and he laughs, pleased now, and maybe this is good because it will take his mind off of the awkwardness at the Burrow. “I just figured… I mean I’ve seen so much of him the last few weeks, it just seemed right. And did you know? His mother has been speaking with Andromeda, they’re doing Christmas with her; him and his mother.” She says like she’s defending herself and this little piece of gossip should placate Harry.

It certainly makes him raise an eyebrow, questioning. “Oh? Andromeda didn’t mention it yesterday when I was over.” He says, then he makes a face like he’s thinking, “I mean, she did seem to be cleaning more than normal. Teddy mentioned that she was worried about supper without elves, which he didn’t understand, obviously, but now... Now I think I do.”

Hermione hums, turning to thank the waitress when she drops their drinks off, and then picks hers up. “Well, anyway, he needed help finding a specific gift for her for his mother, and I managed to find something for him.” She shrugs, like that’s no big deal, though Harry gives her a look like it’s quite a lot more than that. She almost _doesn’t_ say anything more, but the memory of that cozy little tea room gets to her. “And, did you know, there’s a tea room out down an alley right beside Flourish and Blotts? I just couldn’t believe it.” She says.

“You went to a, ah, _cozy_ tea shop with Malfoy?” Harry asks, taking a sip of his drink afterward, slow, like he’s making a point.

“Well, I mean, I had to give him the gift, didn’t I? And so I met him out front of Flourish and Blotts, and… well the main point is that you’ll adore it, I swear, they had lovely pastries, and every kind of tea you could think of.” She says, clearly having enjoyed herself despite (or because of??) the company.

Harry nods, slow, understanding. “Well, you’ll have to show it to me sometime.” He says, and Hermione hums, warm. “And maybe we’ll catch him tomorrow. You _are_ coming up, right? Teddy has been asking about you quite relentlessly the past few weeks.” He adds, and Hermione feels guilty, briefly, for being quite so busy…

“I’m coming tonight as well, just like I promised, presents and everything in tow.” She says, setting her cup down as their food comes. “Now tell me what you’ve heard about this boyfriend of Ginny’s because she’s been dating him a little while but I’ve yet to _really_ learn anything about him.” She says, steering away from Malfoy rather entirely.

On Christmas morning, Hermione wakes up, gets dressed, and goes to get herself something warm to drink. She checks the clock, and then her calendar, thoughtful; she doesn’t have to be to the Burrow until noon.

There are a few gifts under her little tree this morning: something from Ginny, a few things from her relatives, including a small box from her parents (her eyes tear up when she spots it, but she turns away, refusing to let them fall). There’s also a rather bold, black envelope settled amongst the branches of the tree, her name written in a neat white inked cursive. When her tea is ready she comes back and considers her options before sighing and settling on the floor to open the gift from her parents first.

It’s thoughtful, small, and very… it’s very muggle. It’s a photobook, all of the photos decorated individually, nothing moving or twisting, no magic interwoven into the seams. She knows she’s going to do just a little magic on it to keep it safe, but for the moment she can’t bring herself to think about altering it in any way. The card that comes with it asks her to visit before the new year, and… she will, of course. She sits there for quite some time just looking at it, before she’s mustered up the will to open the rest of the gifts under the tree, and by then her tea is cold and it’s getting close to her time to leave but…

She stands up slowly and stares at the black envelope. It must be from Malfoy, she decides, a soft frown tugging at her lips as she looks at it. She reaches out slowly for it, taking it gently from the branches, and flips it over in her hand; a Malfoy family crest, stamped into silver wax stares back at her.

It makes her laugh, actually, the ostentatious presentation, the ridiculousness… but she enjoys it, finds it refreshing in its oldness. “Ah, Malfoy.” She murmurs to herself as she slowly pulls it open to slip the card out from inside.

The card is not black, but red and gold, and she appreciates the paper (as she knows she is probably expected to do), and the vibrancy of the colors. His note is short, written underneath a generic Merry Christmas wish, but it makes her cheeks go warm and her stomach flutter:

_I hope you receive the happiness and cheer that you deserve, Granger. You’re one of a kind, truly. P.S: you can’t use your herbal knowledge without me, or I won’t believe it’s been acquired. See you soon._

 Hermione thinks back to the conversation with Harry the day before, when he’d mentioned something about Malfoy trying to ‘get her attention’, and then before that, the other times… “Oh no, don’t start thinking like that.” She whispers to herself, but of course she can’t help it. Her thoughts begin to spiral downward for a moment, tripping over each other into what ifs and other types of possibilities and then the clock chimes and she realizes she needs to finish getting ready.

Running into Malfoy at Andromeda’s later that afternoon shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was; and it _was_ surprising. She hadn’t anticipated that Harry would want to get away from the Burrow so quickly after lunch (“Well maybe we should steer clear of the topic of relationships, hm?” “Honestly, you’d think there were no one else in the world to date aside from you two.” “And she doesn’t want us dating each other, which was an unfortunate conversation I never want to relive”), but then she hadn’t been there for very long and was also feeling that rush to leave.

They walked part of the way to Andromeda’s, the weather rather nice, and the walk a good excuse to talk about how they look forward to meeting Ginny’s boyfriend at the end of the week, and how Ron really just needs to ask the girl from the shop next to WWW out so that they can all stop hearing about her.

But Malfoy being at Andromeda’s throws her for a loop that she’s so annoyed with herself for. Harry notices her pause, her wide eyes, her light blush, and Teddy might notice them too, but luckily he’s easily distracted.

“Hermione, dear, it’s been an age.” Andromeda says, and Hermione apologizes as Harry politely acknowledges Mrs. Malfoy and Draco around her. “I was expecting you a little later, was it getting rambunctious up there? You know, Narcissa, Molly’s already got _multiple_ grandchildren.” She says, turning to look over at her sister in the parlor.

Narcissa is poised, as ever Hermione remembers her being, but there’s something slightly softer about her here, now, as she tilts her head in silent, but polite question.

“Yes, I know she’s more children, but _still._ ” Andromeda insists, before urging Harry and Hermione to come sit with them, Teddy climbing up into Hermione’s lap once she’s settled.

It’s…

It’s comfortable.

Harry had grown over the past few years into someone who could gently carry a conversation with anyone who was at least mostly interesting. Hermione had always been able to start a conversation, or work with one, so it’s not hard to get into everything now. She’s grateful for Harry though because…. Because he takes some of the attention away from her.

Until, that is, Andromeda brings up the gift of antique, silver chalices she’d received from Narcissa, and Narcissa looks over at Hermione with a little bit of a twinkle in her eyes. She doesn’t say anything, but there’s something _knowing_ in that look, something a little stronger than Hermione was expecting for something like this (‘it was no trouble, just a call to my cousin, nothing big’ _but you did it, for no real reason than because Malfoy mentioned he was having trouble_ ).

They take their leave of the family a couple of hours after arriving, Teddy begging for a weekend with either of them, and Hermione promises him soon, looking over at Andromeda and confirming the promise to her. Draco follows them out the door, though, surprisingly.

“Ah, finally, fresh air.” He says, and Harry snorts, the look on his face saying he’s heard that kind of line before and _nice try_.

“How long had you been in there? Harry and I walked part of the way from the Burrow… necessary.” Hermione says, and Harry agrees, pulling on his gloves and hat a little more securely, like he’s trying to give them _space_ without walking away from her.

Draco looks at Harry, then turns his back to him (Harry seems relieved), “The whole morning, actually, and I’m sure Theodore is a lovely child but I’m rather…” He sniffs, shaking his head. It makes her laugh softly, and something about that reaction seems to calm Draco just a touch (agitated steps, movement, calmed). “Well, anyway. I trust you received my letter?” He asks, and Hermione nods. “Then maybe day after tomorrow, if you’re free, you can prove you’ve learned _something_ about tea.” He says, and it’s not exactly a request, but…

“Honestly, as if I’ve ever failed to… of course, Malfoy, I’ll see you then.” She says, and Harry coughs lightly into his hand, clearly covering for laughter.

Malfoy makes a little face, but doesn’t otherwise let Harry’s presence deter him. “2 o’clock, then.” He says, and when Hermione nods his lips move up like they want to give her a smile, but it’s just not quite there yet. “Merry Christmas.” He says, instead of anything else, and Hermione smiles at him and says it back, before Harry says it loudly, reminding them that he’s there.

They wave as they walk away from the house, and Hermione is very glad that Harry waits until they’re out of view before teasing her, because she doesn’t think it would have done to be seen chasing Harry Potter up the road, swatting at him as she blushed furiously.

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! I finished it! Sorry it took so long; sometimes the writing just doesn't happen as fast as I want it to >< I hope you enjoyed~


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